1. Field
The invention is related to an interferometer adapter cap which can easily be incorporated attached to a fiber inspection device, such as a microscope. It could also be used to examine the “flatness” of the end of any small object with a suitable holder.
2. Related Art
A number of interferometer products tailored to the inspection of fiber optic connector ferrule end faces exist today. They are typically bench style units intended for production or laboratory use. Most are “non-contact” types which do not require physical contact with the connector under inspection. Some are “contact” types which are intended for the inspection of bare optical fiber cleave angles, which are crucial for successful fusion splicing.
The non-contact interferometers tend to be expensive due primarily to the high cost of the specialized optics and motion systems which they contain. Examples of these interferometers include the Micro Enterprises “Optispec” line and the Norland CC6000 “Connect-Chek” models.
Problems with the current interferometers include cost, ease of use and physical form factors. For example, interferometers typically exhibit high sensitivity to mechanical vibration, placing restrictions on the work area. They are also very expensive and require a high end PC for data processing at the time of this writing.
Therefore, there is a need for a lower cost apparatus that can be used to inspect connector ferrules. Portable microscopes are one such apparatus. They are typically in the shape of a hand held probe so that during normal use, they can be held in a variety of positions to probe large panels of connectors, such as in a networking room.
In order to use such a portable microscope, some mechanism for attaching the connector ferrules to the microscope is needed. Therefore, one objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus that allows for the low cost testing of connector end-face geometry, in the field or office, with low sensitivity to environmental factors (vibration, movement, etc.).